NAICOM tasks African govts to support insurance industry for economic growth
By Asishana John
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has called on all African governments to support the insurance industry for economic growth.
The Commissioner for Insurance, Sunday Thomas, who made the call at the industry’s conference charged the new president of African Insurance Organisation (AIO), Tope Smart, to influence governments across the continent to play their roles in providing necessary support and creating an enabling environment for insurance activities to flourish.
The commissioner also advised the AIO to persuade governments on continued lifting of border barriers making movement of resources almost impossible, promote healthy competitions amongst member states and promote knowledge sharing across the continent among other objectives that will make insurance business thrive within the African markets.
Thomas, who said the commission has been able to get more support from the Nigerian government stated that this is the very first time that any Nigerian President or Head of State will personally attend any programme of the insurance sector in Nigeria.
He said: “The founding fathers of the AIO had a very thoughtful foresight by making sure we have this forum that has over these years had achieved tremendous success in harmonising the African insurance markets and bringing together experts of different insurance faculties yearly to discuss burning issues affecting the continent and the rest of the world. I believe the outcome of all our deliberations in the last few days will go a long way in helping us thrive higher in achieving our goals and objectives”.
While congratulating Smart, the Commissioner said: “I want to say to the incoming President that the journey ahead may not be all smooth, especially due to the aftermath of the COVID19 pandemic and the shapes of our economies across Africa presently. There is a huge task ahead of you and your team, but working with you over the years gives me high confidence that you are equal to the task and I can vouch for your hard work, resilience, foresight and determination.
